Kings keep driving opponents crazy

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It’s fascinating to not only watch the Los Angeles Kings get it done in the postseason, but send opponents to the psychiatrists couch in the process.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks were the latest victim on Wednesday to come apart at the seams. Leading 2-1 and 20 minutes away from a 2-0 series lead, Chicago instead unraveled during a 6-2 loss. ‘Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, tight-lipped and clearly agitated in his presser afterward, said he hadn’t seen his team fall apart like that all season.

That’s what the Kings do to opponents. L.A. doesn’t care who its plays, where it plays or how things are going at any time during a game. The Kings play the same way, they don’t get flustered, they brush off mistakes and unlucky bounces like an umpire cleaning home plate.

The Kings don’t lose poise or become unnerved regardless of a series score, whether they’re down 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 or tied 3-3 going into a rival’s barn for Game 7. That’s happened twice already, and might happen again.

The Sharks’ future appears to have been forever altered by the Kings’ first-round comeback. Whether right or wrong, general manager Doug Wilson is going to make significant changes to the core of the roster that has clearly disappointed the local fan base by failing to match regular-season success in the playoffs.

It might work, or it might lead to more change in a year. And if it plays out the way I think, fans better prep themselves for those times a Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau look real good wearing someone else’s colors.

The Anaheim Ducks were shamed in Game 7 by the Kings, getting blown out by the same score as Chicago’s loss. They know it — maybe everyone else doesn’t — but the Ducks should improve through attrition when players such as youngsters Devante Smith-Pelly,

Kings coach Darryl Sutter

Emerson Etem and Rickard Rakell take over for long-in-the-tooth Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. They’ll be better in goal with John Gibson, and they’ll be deep on the blue line. They might even end up with enough salary-cap space to add a free agent or two.

There’s a long way to go in their current series, but Lord knows how introspective the Blackhawks might turn if the Kings win the West. If Chicago thought it had an advantage because L.A. barely had a chance to recover from Round 2, that went out the window with Game 2’s result.

It’s funny, too, to watch Kings coach Darryl Sutter get psycho analyzed at every turn because no one knows what he’ll say next, or if he’ll be in a bad or really bad mood. Sutter doesn’t try to hide his contempt for questions he thinks are bad ones. That ruffles some feathers. He doesn’t treat every reporter the same. That ruffles even more feathers.

How he handles the media or appears to the public has absolutely nothing to do with his coaching. Why is Sutter having more success now than he had in Chicago, San Jose or Calgary? I’ll give you three reasons:

Jonathan Quick

Drew Doughty

Anze Kopitar

When you have three of the best players at their position in the game, and we’re talking every aspect of what each position entails, you’ve got something special.

No one even talks about this team missing defenseman Robin Regehr. Look how Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson have stepped up this postseason. Marian Gaborik couldn’t stay healthy anywhere else, but look at him now. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards “partied” too much in Philly. Well, they’re the life of a different party now.

Jarret Stoll, Dwight King, Trevor Lewis and the clutch Justin Williams give the Kings so much depth up front. Slava Voynov and Jake Muzzin gained valuable experience from last season’s playoffs, and look how they help to round out a blue line led by Doughty.